JPS60255578A - Construction for reinforcing center pillar of hardtop vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the protrusion of reinforcing ribs to a passenger room without lowering the flexural rigidity of a center pillar, by providing bridging elements at both the front and rear ends of the cross section of the inner reinforcing element of the center pillar, and conjoining the bridging elements to edges at a working hole. CONSTITUTION:Bridging elements 11 are spot-welded at both the front and rear ends of the cross section of the inner reinforcing element 6A of a center piller 2, and arc-welded at the opposite ends of the bridging elements on reinforcing flanges 7 at the front and rear of the cross section of a seat belt retractor mounting hole 5 provided inside the inner portion 3 of the center pillar 2. The bridging elements 11 not only increase the rigidity around the mounting hole 5 but also greatly increase the rigidity of connection of the inner and outer portions 3, 4 of the center pillar 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a center pillar reinforcement structure for a hardtop vehicle, specifically a four-door hardtop vehicle.

In a conventional four-door hard-top vehicle, a center pillar 2 is provided on a side sill 1 at a height lower than the door waist line, as shown in FIGS.
A rear door (not shown) is supported via upper and lower door hinges, and a striker metal for locking the front door is provided. Center pillar 2 is pillar inner 3
The pillar outer 4 has a closed section, and a working hole 5t for installing the seat belt rest 2 is opened in the lower part of the pillar inner 3, and the center pillar 2 is opened from this working hole 5.
A seatbelt retrough 41 (not shown) is stored in the lower closed cross-sectional space, and the seatbelt is wound around the retractor.
h It is designed to be pulled out through the working hole 5. Furthermore, a reinforcement 6 having a U-shaped cross section is joined to the upper and lower door hinge additional positions of the pillar outer 414 along the inner surface shape of the pillar outer 4 to ensure additional strength of the door hinge. A reinforcing flange 7 is bent inward at the periphery of the opening of the aforementioned working hole 5. By forming the working hole 5 with a relatively large opening area on the lower side of the pillar inner 3 like this, the rigidity of the base of the center pillar 2 is impaired, so the working hole 5 is formed as shown in the wJs diagram. reinforcing flanges 7 on the front and rear edges of the pillar inner 3
A reinforcement 8 having a U-shaped cross section is fitted between the front and rear side walls, and the joint portion is joined and reinforced by arc welding. Furthermore, in addition to attaching the reinforcement 8 to the pillar inner 3, as shown in Figure 4.5, the front and rear sides of the pillar inner 3 are shaped so that the protruding height becomes higher as it goes downward toward the single room side. The reinforcing rib 9 is entirely integrally molded and joined to the lip base 9At-floor panel 10 to increase the rigidity of the center pillar 2 in the direction toward the passenger compartment. A similar structure of such a center pillar is shown, for example, in Nirasan Laurel Maintenance Manual-1, page 351, published by Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., November 1980.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the conventional configuration, the reinforcement 8 is joined across the front and rear reinforcing flanges 7 of the working hole 5 and the front and rear side walls of the pillar inner 3. Although rigidity can be ensured, the reinforcement 8 does not contribute in any way to reinforcing the center pillar 2 against the falling load that is applied from the outside of the vehicle when the door is closed, etc. In order to ensure sufficient collapse rigidity,
It is necessary that the lower side of the reinforcing lip 9 protrude thickly toward the vehicle interior as shown in the fourth figure. For this reason, there is a problem that not only does the living space around the passenger's feet in the vehicle compartment become extremely narrow, but also that the reinforcing lip 9 easily catches the foot when getting on and off, thereby impairing the ease of getting on and off the vehicle.

Also, spot welding is required to sub-assemble the reinforcement 8 to the pillar inner 3 because the reinforcement 8 is fitted between the reinforcing flange 7 and the front and rear side walls of the pillar inner 3 to form a closed cross section. There was a problem in that it was impossible, and one had to rely on arc welding, which was extremely troublesome.

Therefore, the present invention makes it possible to keep the amount of overhang of the reinforcing lip to the single chamber side as small as possible to ensure sufficient collapse rigidity of the center pillar, and also to easily perform subassembly of the reinforcing member around the working hole opening R. The purpose of this invention is to provide a method for reinforcing the center pillar of a hardtop vehicle.

Means for Solving the Problem In the present invention, a working hole for installing a seat belt retractor is provided in the lower part of the inner pillar of the center pillar, which is installed in the side sill at a height lower than the door waist line. In a structure in which a reinforcement having a U-shaped cross section is joined to the upper and lower door hinge application portions of the pillar book along the inner surface shape of the pillar outer, bridge pieces are provided at both front and rear ends of the lower reinforcement, and this bridge piece is It is joined to the front and rear opening edges of the working hole.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, with the same reference numerals assigned to the same parts as in the conventional structure.

In FIG. 1, bridge pieces are attached to both the front and rear ends of the lower reinforcement 6 of the reinforcement 6, which has a U-shaped cross section and is joined to the upper and lower door hinge additional parts of the pillar outer 4 of the center pillar 2 along its inner surface shape. 11'k,
For example, the bridge piece 11 is spot-welded integrally with the front and rear side walls of the pillar outer 4, and the other end of this bridge piece 11 is attached to the front and rear opening edges of the seatbelt retractor installation working hole 5 formed in the lower part of the pillar inner 3. It is joined to the front and rear edge reinforcing flanges 7 by arc welding.

According to the above embodiment structure, the rigidity around the working hole 5 can be increased by the bridge piece 11, and the bridge piece 11 extends from the pillar outer 4 to the reinforcing flange 7 at the front and rear edges of the working hole of the pillar inner 3. Because they are joined, the joint rigidity between the pillar outer 4 and the pillar inner 3 on the lower side of the center pillar 2 can be significantly increased.
Moreover, since the bridge piece 11 and the front and rear side walls of the pillar inner 3 and pillar outer 4 form a closed cross section, the cross-sectional area between them can be fully expanded, so that the rigidity of the lower side of the -J- center pillar 2 can be further increased. This makes it possible to increase the rigidity of the center pillar 2 in the direction toward the passenger compartment. As a result, the reinforcement lips 9 formed on the front and rear sides of the pillar inner 3
It is possible to keep the amount of protrusion of the lower part of ~ toward the passenger compartment side as small as possible, and to expand the living space around the passenger's foot area in a single cabin, and to By reducing the amount of protrusion toward the passenger compartment, it is possible to completely improve the ease of getting in and out of the vehicle. Furthermore, since the bridge piece 11H can be joined to the pillar outer 4 together with the reinforcement 6A by spot welding to form a subassembly, the bridge piece 11
It is possible to automate the subassembly work of
This can greatly contribute to cost reduction.

In the embodiment described above, the bridge piece 11 is molded separately, but
As shown in Figure 2, lI is attached to both ends of the reinforcement 6A.
It is also possible to extend A'e, in which case the bridge piece l
Since the subassembly work for I can be omitted, there is an advantage that costs can be further reduced.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the rigidity around the working hole of the pillar inner can be increased by the bridge piece, and the joint rigidity between the pillar outer and the pillar inner of the center pillar lower part can be significantly increased, Since the center pillar's rigidity in the direction toward the passenger compartment is further increased, the amount of reinforcing lips formed on the front and rear sides of the pillar inner protrude toward the passenger compartment can be kept small, making it possible to reduce the amount of space occupied by the occupants' feet in the passenger compartment. It is possible to expand the space and improve the ease of getting on and off, and in addition, the bridge pieces can be sub-assembled at each station without arc welding to the pillar outer, which has a great practical effect of reducing costs completely. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The first factor is a sectional view showing a main part of one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a different example of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a hardtop vehicle to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a conventional center pillar seen from the passenger compartment side, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in FIG. 4, similar to FIG. 1-2. 1... Side sill, 2... Center pillar, 3...
- Pillar inner, 4... Pillar outer, 5... Working hole, 6... Reinforce, 6A... Lower reinforcement, 9... Reinforcement rib, 11, 11 A... Bridge piece. 2 people Figure 1 Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A working hole for installing a seat and belt retractor is created in the lower part of the pillar inner of the center pillar installed at a height lower than the door waist line in the side sill, and a working hole for installing the seat and belt retractor is installed in the upper and lower door hinge attachment parts of the pillar outer. In the structure in which reinforcements having a U-shaped cross section are joined along the inner surface shape of the lower reinforcement, bridge pieces are provided at both front and rear ends of the lower reinforcement, and these bridge pieces are joined to the front and rear opening edges of the working hole. A center pillar reinforcement structure for hardtop vehicles featuring: